Window frame assembly



Sept. 9, 1969 F. E. KNIPPER WINDOW FRAME ASSEMBLY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 21, 1968 FIG. I!

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United States Patent O 3,465,485 WINDOW FRAME ASSEMBLY Francis E. Knipper, 299 Connecticut St., Hollywood, Fla. 33020 Filed Feb. 21, 1968, Ser. No. 707,101 Int. Cl. E06b 1/02, 1/12 U.S. Cl. 52-204 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A window frame assembly to be placed in an opening in a wall and including a backup frame of precast concrete members having right angle joints at the corners thereof and an ornamental frame also of precast concrete members to be placed directly in front of the backup frame and having mitered joints at the corners thereof so that no straight-through leakage path through both of the joints at any corner exists.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention is an improvement over the window frame construction described and claimed in U.S. Patent No. 3,328,930 issued to the present inventor. In accordance with that patent, a window frame consists of header, sill and jamb members, all made of precast concrete, held at the corners thereof by brackets. Although this construction is satisfactory for some applications, there are some drawbacks. If the frame is to give an ornamental appearance to the window, it is desirable to provide a design on the exterior thereof and actually to provide a choice of designs. However, it would be costly to stock a number of types of complete frames each with a different design on the exterior thereof. It is also possible for water to leak through the joints at the corners of the frame, particularly since if a crack should develop through the joint, there is a straight through path from front to rear of the frame through which water can leak. Another problem is that the individual frame members may be somewhat heavy where they are each cast in one piece, and this, of course, makes it difficult to assemble them in a window opening.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a window frame assembly comprised of two separate frames, a backup frame and an ornamental frame, adapted to be placed in a window opening in a wall with the ornamental frame directly in front of the backup frame. The backup frame is comprised of a header member, a sill member and two jamb members all of precast concrete construction and having right angle joints where the members come together at the corners of the frame. The ornamental frame is comprised of a top member, a bottom member and two side members all of precast concrete construction and adapted to be assembled in the wall opening in front of the backup frame to provide an ornamental appearance on the exterior side of the wall. The ends of the members of the ornamental frame are mitered to provide mitered joints overlying but offset from the right angle joints of the backup frame so that no straight-through path for leakage of water through both of the joints exists. The backup frame may be standardized so that the same frame may be used for any window of a given size. However, a variety of ornamental frames may be provided with different designs on the exterior thereof so that windows in different buildings may have different exterior appearances. Each side of the overall frame assembly is made up of more than one member, so a given member may be made relatively light and easy to handle, which aids in assembling the frames. The backup frame members may,

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if desired, be divided into two or more pieces to further reduce the weight of each piece. The backup frame may project from the inside of the wall slightly to receive plaster flush therewith, and either the ornamental frame or the backup frame may project slightly from the front side of the wall to receive finish material flush therewith. A lip is provided on one of the frames to receive a marginal edge of the window, and the backup frame members may have longitudinal recesses in which the ornamental frame members fit when assembled.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved window frame assembly comprised of a backup frame and an ornamental frame.

Another object of the invention is to provide such backup frame and ornamental frame with joints at the corners thereof which do not line up with each other when the frames are assembled, thus avoiding any straight-through path through which water may leak.

Another object of the invention is to provide an ornamental frame for a window frame assembly of molded concrete members having a design on the exterior side thereof.

A further object of the invention is to provide a window frame assembly of precast concrete members forming two separate frames so that the individual members may be lighter than if a single frame of the same size were provided.

A further object of the invention is to provide projections on at least one of the frames at the front and rear sides of the window opening to receive finish material, and also a projection for receiving a marginal edge of the window.

Other objects of this invention will appear in the following description and appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

ON THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of a window and frame provided in a wall, only a portion of which is shown;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken along line 22 of FIGURE 1 looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary elevational view of a corner of a backup frame and a corner of an ornamental frame showing how the frames may be superimposed so that joints at the corners of the frames do not form a straight-through leakage path;

FIGURE 4 is an exploded elevational view of the four concrete members included in the backup frame;

FIGURE 5 is a cross sectional view of one of the backup frame members taken along line 5-5 of FIG- URE 4;

FIGURE 6 is an exploded elevational view showing the four members included in the ornamental frame;

FIGURE 7 is a cross sectional view of one of the members of the ornamental frame taken along line 77 of FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary cross sectional view similar to FIGURE 2, but illustrating another embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary cross sectional view also similar to FIGURE 2 but showing a different embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 10 is a fragmentary cross sectional view showing still another embodiment; and

FIGURE 11 is a fragmentary cross sectional view of a further embodiment.

Before explaining the present invention in detail it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of descriptionand not of limitation.

AS SHOWN ON THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 shows a portion of a wall with a window frame 12 and a window 14 mounted in an opening through the wall. The frame 12 has mitered corners 16 and has ridges 18 running longitudinally thereof, all of which gives the frame 12 a pleasing ornamental appearance as viewed from the exterior of the wall.

Referring to FIGURES 2-7, it may be seen that the frame 12 is only part of a window frame assembly, part of which is hidden behind frame 12 when viewed as in FIGURE 1. As shown in FIGURES 6 and 7, frame 12 includes a top member 20, a bottom member 22 and two side members 24 and 26 which are all made of precast concrete material. These members are nearly identical in construction, the only difference being that members 24 and 26 are longer than members and 22 in this particular embodiment. FIGURE 7 shows a cross section of member 22, and it will be understood that all of the members of the frame 12 have the same cross section. Member 22 has a surface 28 and a surface 30 at right angles to each other, and all of the other members of frame 12 have corresponding surfaces. The exterior side of each member has the curved ridges 18 thereon which help to give the frame 12 an ornamental appearance, and thus it is referred to herein as an ornamental frame. Of course, a wide variety of designs could be provided on the exterior side of the ornamental frame, and this side might even 'be a flat surface if desired.

FIGURES 4 and 5 show the members of a backup frame 32 which is placed behind the ornamental frame as shown in FIGURE 2. Frame 32 includes a header member 34, a sill member 36 and two jamb members 38 and 40, all made of precast concrete material. FIGURE 5 shows a cross section of sill member 36, and it will be understood that all of the members of backup frame 32 have an identical cross section. Member 36 has a web or surface 42 and another surface or flange 44 at right angles to each other which form a longitudinally extending recess or seat, and the other members of frame 32 have like web and flange 42 and 44 so that each member has a longitudinally extending recess or seat for receiving the ornamental frame 12 in the manner illustrated in FIGURE 2.

The top ends of jamb members 38 and have surfaces 48 and 50 at right angles to each other forming a recess for receiving the ends of header member 34. Similarly, the bottom ends of jamb members 38 and 40 have surfaces 52 and 54 at right angles to each other forming recesses for receiving the ends of sill member 36. As shown in FIGURE 3, header member 34 is aflixed by cementing material 56 to surfaces 48 and 50 to form a right angle joint recessed into jamb member 38. The other corners of backup frame 32 are like the corners shown in FIGURE 3.

As shown in FIGURE 6, the ends of members 20, 24, 26 and 28 are formed at a 45 degree angle. FIGURE 3 shows how the ends of member 20 and member 28 fit together to form a mitered joint, with the angled surfaces 58 and 60 being affixed together by cementing material 62. The other corners of ornamental frame 12 are like that shown in FIGURE 3.

When the two frames 12 and 32 are assembled together in the manner shown in FIGURE 2, the mitered joint at each corner of frame 12 overlies but is offset from the right angle joint formed at each corner of frame 32. This is apparent from FIGURE 3 where the two corners are shown side by side, and it may be readily visualized that when frame 12 is assembled in front of frame 32 with surfaces 28 butting against surfaces 42, the material at 62 will not line up with the material 56. Therefore, there is no straight-through path in the joints where water could leak through both joints.

Referring to FIGURE 2, jamb member 38 butts against wall 10 and is aflixed thereto by cementing material 64. The rear end 66 of jamb member 38 projects slightly from the inside of wall 10 to receive plaster 68 or other finish material flush therewith. Thus, a worker can simply trowel the plaster right up to the rear end 66 of the jamb member.

The jamb member has a projecting portion 70 at the front end thereof adjacent to side member 24, and projecting portion 70 terminates flush with the exterior surface 72 of wall 10. However, the front end of side member 24 project outwardly beyond portion 70 and also beyond surface 72 so that finish material 74, such as stucco, may be applied flush with the front end of side member 24 as shown. Side member 24 is afiixed to jamb member 38 by cementing material 76.

Side member 24 has a lip portion 78 extending inwardly of the window opening and a marginal edge or flange 80 of window sash 14 butts against a gasket 82 which seats on the lip 78. A block of wood 84 is molded as an insert in jamb member 38 and the block 84 receives a screw 86 which fastens window sash 14 to the jamb member. Each of the jamb members may have a similar wood block embedded therein to receive fastening screws 86. The window may be removed by simply removing the screws and taking the window out of the frames.

FIGURE 8 is a cross sectional View similar to FIGURE 2 which shows a slightly modified window frame assembly, the only difference of FIGURE 8 as compared to that of FIGURE 2 is that the front end portion 88 of jamb member 38 projects outwardly beyond the outer surfaces 72 of wall 10 to receive the finish material 74 flush therewith. Jamb portion 88 is also flush with the front end of side member 24 of the ornamental frame.

The embodiment of FIGURE 9 is very similar to that of FIGURE 8, the difference being that portion 89 of side member 24 of the ornamental frame terminates short of the inner surface 90 of jamb member 38, and the marginal edge or flange 80 of the window sash along with gasket 82 abut against jamb member 38 rather than against portion 89 of side member 24. This is merely an alternate construction.

In the embodiment of FIGURE 10, the jamb member 38 has no projecting portion equivalent to projecting portion 70 in the embodiment of FIGURE 2. Thus, the side member 24 of frame 12 fits directly in front of and extends completely across jamb member 38. As in the embodiment of FIGURE 2, side member 24 extends outwardly beyond wall 10 to receive fiinsh material 74 flush therewith. Also, flange 80 of the window sash and gasket 82 abut against portion 78 of side member 24.

FIGURE 11 illustrates an embodiment of the invention which is exactly like the embodiment of FIGURE 2 except that the jamb member 38 is divided longitudinally into two pieces 92 and 94. This construction is particularly useful where the wall 10 is fairly thick. It will be understood that by dividing all of the members of the backup frame into two or more pieces in the manner illustrated in FIGURE 11, the Weight of each piece is reduced as compared to a single-piece member as used in FIGURE 2, and this of course makes it easier to assemble the backup frame. It would also be possible to divide the members of either frame transversely into multiple pieces if desired.

It is evident from the foregoing description that the window frame assembly of the present invention has several advantages over conventional window frame constructions. In many conventional windows, strips of wood are nailed around a window opening in a wall, and

the window sash has a flange which butts against these strips and the sash is aflixed to the strips by screws. The perimeter of the opening is stuccoed or plastered such that the Window is permanently sealed into the opening. The perimeter is seldom ornamented. By comparison, the present window frame assembly affords easy removal of the window sash for repair or replacement purposes. The outside of the window frame assembly is designed to be ornamental. A great variety of ornamental designs may be provided by means of the ornamental frame. The backup frame may be standarized so that large number of ornamental frames may be used with the same backup frame. By using two or more frames in the window assembly, the weight of individual pieces of a frame is reduced. The design of the frames is such that the molds in which the frame pieces are cast may be used overand over again, and this reduces the cost of molds. The frames may be installed quickly, have a precision fit, are low in cost and involve low on-the-job cost. The frame assembly may project slightly on both sides of the walls so that plaster, stucco or other finish material may be troweled flush with the ends of the frame assembly. The ornamental frame can be molded of colored material. Similarly, stones giving a textured appearance can be molded into the ornamental frame. Ceramic tile may be applied to either frame. Mass production of the frames is possible, and since they are made in several parts, they can be shipped easily.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A window frame assembly of molded concrete parts adapted to fit in a window opening in wall of a given thickness, said frame assembly including in combination a backup frame comprised of a header member, a sill member and two jam-b members all of precast concrete construction, each member including a Web section and a flange section projecting from said web section at right angles thereto, said web and flange section defining a seat along each member, the webs of said jamb members extending beyond the ends of said flange sections thereby forming a recess at each end of said jamb member, the flange sections of all of said members being directed inwardly of said frame in coplanar relation and the ends of said header and sill members being positioned in the recesses, cementing metering bonding the ends of said members together at their adjoining surfaces, said surfaces extending normally to the axes of the header, jamb or sill members bottom member and two side members all of precast concrete construction, said ornamental frame members being disposed in said seats on said backup frame to provide an ornamental appearance on the exterior side of said backup frame, the ends of each of the members of the ornamental frame being mitered and affixed together by cementing material to provide mitered joints overlying said normally extending surfaces of said backup frame in angular relation thereto so that no straight-through path for leakage through both of said joints exists, the dimensions of the members of the ornamental frame positioning said mitered joints directly in front of said normally extending surfaces with back and front surfaces of said ornamental frame and said backup frame being affixed to each other.

2. The window frame assembly of claim 1 in which said backup frame members are divided into a plurality of pieces.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,085,605 2/1914 Gunn 52-211 1,177,605 4/1916 Dipple 52-624 1,245,537 11/1917 Van Fleet 52-656 1,265,541 5/1918 Smith 52-656 1,635,336 7/1927 Nelson 52-455 2,166,870 7/1939 Livesay 52-204 2,326,549 8/1943 Miller 52-211 2,614,665 10/1952 Floyd 52-212 3,230,676 1/1966 Dixon 52-204 3,328,930 7/1967 Knipper 52-656 HENRY C. SUTHERLAND, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 52-477, 656

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SIGNED ANu SEALED DEN-19$ (SEAL) Attest:

Edward M. Fletcher, Jr.

WILLIAM E. S.C1-IUYLER, JR. Altestmg Offlcer Commissioner of Patents 

